Daring Bakers: Cannoli

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

I have never had the pleasure of eating a cannoli but I've often heard many, many tasty things about them. So when I found out that this months challenge for the Daring Bakers was cannoli I was very exited to try them.

We were given the option of baking them instead of frying. I didn't want to worry about stinking up my apartment for just a few (I did an 1/8 of a recipe), I went with the baking gratefully. I also did the stacked cannoli or cannolipoleons since I didn't have the cannoli forms or want to purchase any substitute. Perhaps later after I've experimented with these a little more. This time though, I cut out 3 inch circles and stacked them using the filling.

I don't usually have any wine in the apartment so I substituted cranberry pomegranate juice. It made the dough a beautiful shade of purplish pink. And it was quite tasty pre-baking too. I could resist taking a little nibble. I had to know if the baked shell was going to taste good, right?

For my filling I did the pumpkin option though with cream cheese instead of the marscapone. It's November and I was baking the shells this past weekend (the weekend before Thanksgiving in the US). Pumpkin was in the air and I couldn't help myself. By itself, the filling was delicious. I can't wait to try it on other desserts.

I don't have a pasta roller or attachement for my Kitchen Aid so the dough was rolled out the old fashioned way. It was pretty easy to roll out and I managed to get 6 3-inch round circles from the dough. I'm sure I didn't get them thin enough but they did blister in the oven somewhat like they would fried so I was pretty happy with them.

I loved the cannolipoleons. The tartness from the cranberry pomegranate juice gave the baked shell amazing flavor. That in turn paired beautifully with the pumpkin filling. Because the shells were a little thicker than they should have been, it was quite difficult to break and messy to eat. I almost sent a few flying pieces of pumpkin coated shell across the room. Charlie would have been quite pleased with that I think!

Thanks to our host, Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives for the great challenge this month! To see more version of the cannoli or the cannolipoleons, check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

CANNOLI SHELLS

2 cups (250 grams/16 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING


2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note - If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Pasta Machine method:

1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:

1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 - 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:

1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:

1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

PUMPKIN FILLING

1/2 cup (123 grams/4.34 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1/2 cup (113 grams/4.04 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (122.5 grams/4.32 ounces) canned pumpkin, drained like ricotta
3/4 cup (75 grams/2.65 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 teaspoon (approx. 1.7 grams/approx. 0.06 ounces) pumpkin pie spice (taste)
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams/approx. 0.08 ounces) pure vanilla extract
6-8 cannoli shells

1. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl, cover and chill until it firms up a bit. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

2. Fill the shells as directed above.

TWD: Molasses Spice Cookies

Boy am I glad that we can go all out of order and do the recipes when we can/want this month.  I had planned on doing these cookies last week when they were 'due' but honestly...I just plain forgot.  It happens.  Frequently.  But you know what...I'm okay with that.  So the guys at work didn't get these until Friday.  I'm pretty sure they were just as happy to get them Friday as opposed to Monday.  Actually, I think they were pretty happy to get cookies period.


Pamela of Cookies with Boys chose Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies on pages 76 and 77 of Baking.  Since it has turned colder, I've been in the mood for a nice holidayish cookie and these cookies fit the bill perfectly.  They are absolutely delicious and full of that spicy flavor that just screams HOLIDAY!.  

My cookies must have been terribly small or Dorie makes gigantor cookies because I got about 3 dozen out of the full batch.  I used a 1 T cookie scoop and got what I thought were normal sized cookies.  When they were baked, they were about 3 inches in diameter.  I could have done like Dorie suggested and divided each half of the dough into 12 equal pieces but really...that was just too complicated for me the night I made them.  


I only had one complaint about the cookies from one of my tasters.  I'm not sure if his taste buds were just off that day but he seemed to think they were too spicy.  Well...not spicy really.  He thought they were to ginger spicy.  Um...right. Ok...welll....isn't that the point of these cookies?  I asked around and no one else seemed to think that so I'll just blame this issue on his faulty taste buds.  Of course, being too spicy didn't stop him from eating multiple cookies.  

You can find this recipe on Pamela's blog, Cookies with Boys and in Baking (obviously!).  Check out the TWD blogroll for more of the recipes from this month!

Monkey Bread from Scratch

I wish I had grown up eating monkey bread but I didn't.  I was just out of college and in my first adult job (i.e. non retail work for cheap job).  One of the ladies in the office brought in this warm, gooey, pull apart cake that she called monkey bread.  Right away I was in love with it.  The buttery cinnamon sugar crusted pieces of biscuits were amazing.  And she said it was so easy to make. Just take canned biscuits, cut into small pieces then roll in butter and cinnamon sugar.  Easy peasy!

Of course, despite my instant love of monkey bread, I haven't made it at home.  I have saved numerous recipes over the years since I left that job and a few months ago decided to bring one out and make it.  I decided to go a little different than the canned biscuit route.  The recipe I chose was from scratch and seemed to be pretty simple.

One great short cut that this recipe had was using a bread machine.  This let me prep the dough the night before and have it be made overnight.  Only a little kneading after it comes out since the dough was made in the bread machine.

The big difference in the monkey bread I had before and this one is the butter/sugar mixture. In this version, the butter is melted and then mixed with the brown sugar. This makes the monkey bread almost caramely while the other is cinnamon sugary. Not a bad thing but not what I was expecting at first.

Despite being more involved and tasting differently, I was very happy with this monkey bread. It made a delicious Sunday morning breakfast (and late afternoon snack!). It freezes very nicely so if you are single like me, you can stash most of it in the fridge for later eating. I have taken some out every so often and taken it to work for a satisfying breakfast (much to the jealous co-workers chagrin!). I still plan on making the other version some day. Perhaps I'll even use the dough from this version so it's more from scratch and not so store bought!

Monkey Bread

Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 
  

Directions

Remove baking pan from machine. Place yeast, flour, ground cinnamon, salt, white sugar, 2 tablespoons butter and water in the order that is recommended for the bread maker. Make sure that no liquid comes in contact with the yeast. Select dough cycle and press start.

When dough is complete, place dough on floured surface and knead 10 to 12 times.

In a medium saucepan on low heat, melt one cup of butter, stir in brown sugar. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat.

Cut dough in one inch chunks. Drop one chunk at a time into the butter sugar mixture. Thoroughly coat dough pieces, then layer them loosely in a greased Bundt or tube pan, staggering layers so you're plopping each dough chunk over a space between two below. Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until dough is just over the top of the pan, 15 to 20 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree F (190 degree C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till golden brown. 

Remove from oven, place a plate face down in top of the pan and, using oven mitts to hold plate on pan, turn over both until bread slides out onto plate. Serve warm...and enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie Brioche

I told myself that I wouldn't join anymore baking/cooking groups. I have my hands full with the few I'm in and really didn't have time for anymore. I don't know why I tell myself these things because I usually don't listen. Like this time. When Michelle of Big Black Dogs announced that she was creating a bread baking group for Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day...I knew I had to join. About 6 months ago, I unearthed the bread machine my parents had given me oh about 10 years ago and I've been baking my own bread since. I haven't bought store bread at all in that time (except for tortillas of course!).

While I do not own the first book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I've followed both authors on Twitter for awhile as well as both Zoe Bakes and Artisan Bread in Five. So with the announcement of this new group, I had to get the new book and join in so I could bake my own bread quickly, easily, and most of all with healthy ingredients.

Our first official post baking from the book is not until January 15, 2010 because of the holidays but we are not sitting on our hands waiting! Both Jeff and Zoe have offered up 2 recipes for us bake in the mean time. Our first special recipe is from Zoe and is Pumpkin Pie Brioche. My mouth started watering the moment I heard it. Pumpkin Pie in bread form?! Oh yeah...this is so my kind of bread. I am a huge pumpkin pie fan (Thanksgiving is NOT complete without it!). Actually, I am just a huge pumpkin fan so getting to use it in different ways is always a hit with me.

I was a little nervous because this was my first time making bread with this method but really...it was not hard at all. I mixed the bread up quickly and had it resting in no time. Thank goodness you have so leeway on when you bake because I was unable to for a few days. As soon as I could though, I cut off a cantaloupe size portion and let it rest for 90 minutes.

The bread baked up just fine. I was anticipating having issues there but once again I was just fine. The hardest part of everything was waiting for the loaf to cool. It looked and smelled wonderfully and I wanted a taste! Alas, I managed to wait so I wouldn't mess it up when I cut a slice!

When it was finally cool, I cut myself a nice big slice (purely for testing purposes!) and had at it. But...it didn't taste like pumpkin. If I hadn't baked it and saw myself putting it in, I would not have known beyond guessing at the color. hmm...did I do something wrong perhaps? Mis-measure the pumpkin or spices? I check the HBin5 google group and found I wasn't the only one who had this issue. The consensus seems to be to up the spices next time and see if that works. Another member suggested adding in some maple syrup instead of the honey.

Despite it not tasting very pumpkiny (hmmm...I don't think that's a word), I was satisfied with the bread. The taste was still delicious and very briochey (hmmm...I don't think that's a word either). With a little honey butter, the taste was amazing. I was also happy with the texture of the bread. It was dense but not overly so.  It would make a perfect french toast or bread pudding.  I may have to test out the bread pudding theory soon.

To see the recipe for pumpkin pie brioche, visit Big Black Dog or pick up a copy of Healthy Bread in Five.  You can also find more information about joining HBin5 here.

The Pioneer Woman's Spicy Pulled Pork

I know what you're thinking. Another Pioneer Woman post, Heather? I can't help myself. Once I started cooking from her blog and her new cookbook, I can't stop! I haven't had one recipe come out badly.  Not only does she live in a neighboring state but she also makes good food, it's the food that I grew up eating only better.

This latest recipe comes from her cookbook. It was one of the first I wanted to make because I love pulled pork and I am always on the lookout for a good recipe to try.  So when I picked up a huge 8 lb pork shoulder for less than $13 at the grocery store, I knew this was going to be gracing my plate in no time.

The rub was pulled together very quickly in the food processor.  Naturally, being a Texan, I had the required chili powder, cumin, garlic, and onion in my pantry.  In fact, after I picked up the pork shoulder, I actually had everything to make it!  This rarely happens without me having to make another trip to the store since I invariably forget something.

I had considered trying this in the crockpot but my pork shoulder was WAY to big for my little 4 qt crockpot.  So into the oven it went!  And 7 hours later out came this....

I hadn't even attempted shredding yet.  It was that fall off the bone tender!

I had left shortly after the pork went into the oven so it was a big (but delicious) surprise to come home to such a fragrant apartment.  I could even smell this in my garage!  I briefly felt a little guilty for two little dogs who had to smell this all day but that lasted as long as it took to give them little nibbles.  Charlie gave it two paws up (and a nose and a tongue!) and Sugar (my mom's toy poodle...I mean my 4-legged sister who was visiting at the time) decided it was just about the best thing ever.

Look at the big pile of moist, juicy goodness!

I think the funnest thing about this was shredding the pork.  You could relieve a lot of stress as you shred.  As well as giving little dogs flying bits of pork.  Before long I had a huge pile of juicy, hot pork ready to go.  I went pretty simple and served mine in a tortilla with a little lime, cheese, and sour cream.

Muy delicioso!  I've had a lot of pulled pork in my time and this was by far the best.  It wasn't super spicy but it was just enough spice for me.  You may want to up the seasonings if you like it a little hotter.  I loved how tender and juicy the pork was even a day or two later.  The longer it sat, the better the flavors mingled and developed.  This would be great served at any big gathering you have since it makes a ton of meat! In fact, I ended up freezing almost all of it for later.  The rest I used to make burritos for dinner or to take to work for lunch.

To make this mouthwatering pulled pork, run over to the bookstore (or log onto Amazon) and pick up a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks right now!  You can also seen a version of the recipe at Ree's blog.  There may be slight difference in them...I'm not sure.  I used the version in the book.  And it was divine!  

TWD: Cran-Apple Crisp

One of my favorite desserts is the crisp. Peach, apple, any sort of berry...you name it, I'll probably like it. My favorite favorite is the apple crisp. Warm juicy tender apples are just about one of the best things to eat in my opinion. Top it with a little oat crumble and it's even better. Not to mention that an apple crisp is a perfect dessert to make during the fall or winter.

After taking a short break from Tuesdays with Dorie, I was delighted to find that Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef had selected Cran-Apple Crisps for this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe (if you see different ones at TWD blogs don't worry, because of the holiday this month in the US, we can make the recipes out of order if we need/want to). This recipe looked like a quick and easy dessert that I could put together without much thought.

Add more than this. Mine shrunk quite a bit.

I did not have any fresh or frozen cranberries and it was apparently too early for my grocery store to have any in stock so I just used dried. They plumped up nicely from all of the apple juices and were perfectly tart. To the crust I added a touch more cinnamon and ginger. I tend to find most crusts on the bland side so I decided to up the flavor just a bit.

Because I didn't want a large amount leftover and also because my mother persists in pointing out that my culinary endeavors have resulted in a slight thickening of various body parts (Thanks Mom!), I made an 1/8 of a recipe which equaled 2 - 1/2 cup servings.  Actually, these were quite perfect serving sizes for me.  Not too much but you didn't feel like you were getting shorted any goodness.

Charlie was quite pleased with the crisp too! oh...and don't tell my mom I added a little scoop of ice cream!

This was an absolutely delicious crisp. Simple but very comforting in its flavors. I loved the slight nuttiness that the coconut gave to the crust. I haven't come across many crisps that had coconut as an ingredient but after this one, I may be tempted to add it more often. The extra spices I added to the crust really made it pop. A little less and it would have been bland and disappointing. I am so glad I followed my gut and added them in! I would love to try this with pear next time. I think the pear would hold up well with the cinnamon and ginger and be a very tasty crisp. I'd also like to give the fresh cranberries a go as well. Next time I'm at Sam's I'll pick up a few bags to freeze!

Thanks to Em for the great recipe choice this week! You can find the recipe on her blog or on page 422 in Baking. For more crisps (or one of the other monthly recipes) check out the TWD blogroll!

Roasted Potato and Corn Chowder

After making my roasted garlic and roasted new potatoes, I was left with a lot of leftover roasted potatoes. I can only manage to eat so much of them by myself as leftovers, so I decided to make a big batch of potato soup that I could freeze for later.

It took awhile but I finally found one that sounded pretty tasty at The Repressed Pastry Chef. Of course, I had to change it up a little bit based on what I had in the fridge and pantry. I used my roasted red potatoes in place of the uncooked potatoes. I also used my roasted garlic instead of the raw garlic. In place the canned corn, I used frozen.

This was one delicious bowl of chowder. Most chowders that I've had, were extremely heavy and kind of blah. The addition of roasted garlic and the roasted potatoes really took this chowder to a whole other level.  Every spoonful was bursting with flavor.  I made this on a cold rainy day and it fit the bill perfectly.  I served it by itself but it would be wonderful with a grilled cheese sandwich.

The recipe below reflects the changes I made. Besides what I listed above, I used buttermilk instead of the milk and cream as well as upping the amount of cheese (what can I saw...cheese is my weakness). I like my chowder a little thicker so you may need to add more chicken stock if you want to thin it out. Enjoy!

Roasted Potato and Corn Chowder
Inspired by The Repressed Pastry Chef

Ingredients


5-6 cups leftover roasted red potatoes
3 cups chicken broth, more if you like a thinner soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves roasted garlic, smashed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn – divided

Directions

In a large pot, pour the olive oil and saute the onion until tender. Add the roasted garlic, 2 cups of the chicken broth, the flour, salt, basil and pepper. Mix very well. Gradually add another cup of chicken broth, then the shredded cheese and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, add the cornstarch and whisk until blended. Use an immersion blender to mix everything really well if the cornstarch is lumpy. Add the buttermilk, half of the corn and half of the potatoes. Use the immersion blender again until most of the potatoes and corn are blended well. Add the remaining corn and potatoes and heat through without boiling.

Garnish with desired toppings (me? lots of cheese!!).

Pioneer Woman's Good Ol’ Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last year, I posted Christine's Absolutely Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies that my good friend Christine created. They are pretty much the best chocolate chip cookie that I've had. But that's not to say that I'm not on the look out for even more yummy chocolate chip cookies. So when I saw this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, I had to try them out.

At first glance, they look like your basic chocolate chip cookie. At your second glance, you see the instant coffee addition as well as the flax seed. hmmm...the coffee wasn't all that surprising. I've seen that before and liked it. Coffee brings out the chocolatey-ness of the chocolate. The flax seed was the surprise. I don't think I've come across that in a chocolate chip cookie before. But if the Pioneer Woman puts both in her cookie, it has to be good right?

Yes oh yes it is. These cookies have made it to my top three favorite chocolate chip cookies. The coffee was just barely under the surface (and that's with my screw up and adding one tablespoon!). The flax seed wasn't that noticeable alone (probably because I used milled) but both really pushed this cookie from run of the mill chocolate chip cookie to grown up chocolate chip cookie. Not that a kid wouldn't enjoy these cookies. I'm pretty sure my youngest sister would really like these (she's in eighth grade). They just seemed to be a little more sophisticated than the Nestle Tollhouse cookies I ate as a child. I think these would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches. hmmm...possibilities.

I took these to work the next day and I couldn't believe how fast they went. Perhaps the undercurrent of coffee was picked up by the coffee drinkers and they gobbled them up. Actually...I think both coffee and non-coffee drinkers (like me) loved them. I was even asked by a few when I was going to make them again. Demanding little buggers aren't they? ;)

Pioneer Woman’s Good Ol’ Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used butter only)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 PLUS 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee granules (umm...I read this wrong and put in 1 tablespoon.  It was really good)
1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (Only had semi so used that instead of the chocolate combo)
1 heaping cup milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons flax seed, slightly crushed with rolling pin (I used milled flax seed)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, stir together butter, margarine, brown sugar, and white sugar until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and stir together.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, instant coffee, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients in batches, stirring gently after each addition. Stir in flax seed if desired.
Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop balls of dough on a cookie sheet and bake 11 to 13 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and eat warm.